100,000 Samsung employees put heads together to solve COVID-19 conundrum

More than 100,000 Samsung Electronics employees held an online discussion in April about how to minimize the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the company’s 2020 Sustainability Report, released Friday.

The report said 107,000 Samsung Electronics employees participated in the two-week discussion using its collective intelligence platform Mosaic and came up with 1,620 ideas.

“After review, Samsung Electronics will filter ideas on daily quarantine, sterilization, health monitoring and non-face-to-face daily lives and turn them into actual products and services,” a company official said.

Samsung’s annual sustainability report, which typically focuses on the previous year, introduced its response to COVID-19 first and foremost this year.

To tackle mask shortages in South Korea, the IT giant dispatched smart factory experts to mask manufacturing firms in March, more than doubling production. It also tapped its vast global network to secure raw materials for masks.

For partner companies struggling amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Samsung Group affiliates provided financial support worth 2.6 trillion won ($2.1 billion). Also, it donated $39 million to governments, and medical and educational institutions worldwide hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report also mentioned Samsung Electronics’ green efforts. In the US, China and Europe, 92 percent of the electricity the company used last year was generated by renewable energy sources, and it plans to increase that figure to 100 percent this year. Also, it reduced 5 million metric tons of greenhouse gases by boosting the efficiency of its facilities last year.

Also, Samsung Electronics will use as much as 500,000 metric tons of recycled plastic by 2030 to make products such as refrigerators, air conditioners and phone chargers. This year it will make 100 percent of its packing boxes and manuals from certified sustainably sourced paper and recycled paper.

“Samsung Electronics marked its 50th anniversary last year. This year is the first step toward our next-half century, and Samsung Electronics feels heavy responsibilities in building 100 years of sustainability. As a global firm, Samsung Electronics will endeavor to create environmental and social value as well as economic results,” Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam said.

By Kim Byung-wook (kbw@heraldcorp.com)